By Monday evening, after launching 130 rockets at a large spread of Israel locations, Hamas accelerated the rate of fire, sending rockets and mortar shells against more than a dozen locations, including Greater Tel Aviv. The one aimed at an area near Ben Gurion airport was intercepted by Iron Dome. At the same time, mortar fire intensified on locations closest to the Gaza border. According to one report, Kibbutz Nahal Oz alone heard 26 alerts in 15 minutes as 30 mortar rounds exploded in the largely evacuated village. During the day, an Iron Dome missile knocked a rocket out of the sky over the main Ashdod shopping mall, causing a large fragment to crash through the glass roof. Four people were injured, since most of the shoppers, inured to living under rocket fire, ran for shelter in time.

According to a TV Channel 2 poll, popular approval for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s performance in leading the operation against the Gaza Strip has plunged from 82 percent a month ago to 38 percent at present.